5 G1 Climax 30 MVP candidates
With the G1 Climax 30 coming to a close, we have to look back on a month's worth of incredible professional wrestling filled with masterful performances. With so many classic matches and breakout moments for each wrestler, this tournament usually allows someone to showcase the best in ring work of their career. Every year with this tournament, one competitor stands out above all else as the MVP of the entire G1 Climax.
Over the course of nine matches, determining who stood out the most could be a difficult endeavor. Some performers are able to stand out via their character work, their breakout performances or just purely having the very best matches in the G1. During this G1 Climax 30 tournament, so many competitors performed at the highest level we have seen them at in NJPW or anywhere else.
Jeff Cobb broke out and put on some of the best matches of his career in the G1 Climax 30. YOSHI-HASHI and Taichi proved themselves as singles stars being able to show a fire that we had not previously seen from them. Will Ospreay is always guaranteed to have fantastic matches. Tetsuya Naito proved that he can still be an iron man and an elite top star for NJPW. Jay White had the best tournament as far as character work, with his excellent heel persona shining in what he called "the Jay1".
With those competitors mentioned, we will take a look at the 5 MVP candidates of the G1 Climax 30. We will also list which matches to watch from the tournament for each contender.
#5 Minoru Suzuki (vs. Ibushi - G1 Climax 30 Day 13; vs. Ospreay - G1 Climax 30 Day 11)
At 52 years old, Minoru Suzuki has had his best in-ring year of his 30-year career. With stellar matches against Jon Moxley, Shingo Takagi and Yuji Nagata earlier in 2020, Suzuki came in with a lofty resume of encounters and somehow only added to that across the G1 Climax 30.
He started off the tournament with a stiff battle against Ishii on Day 1. However, the best was still yet to come in the G1 Climax 30. On Day 11, Suzuki went move for move with one of the fastest wrestlers in the world in Will Ospreay. It was a great encounter where Suzuki proved that he can work with anyone in the business.
Of course, there was his instant classic, Match of the Year candidate with Kota Ibushi on Day 13. Suzuki had MVP performances on so many different nights in this tournament. Following missing the cut last year, Suzuki made the most of every opportunity in the G1 Climax 30.